Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Gathering of Goslings!

The plan for the day was to get out on Puddletown Water Meadows whose water levels would have been boosted by another torrential downpour throughout yesterday. There was still rain in the air on a generally gloomy day!

I bumped into Martin (who lives and works on the farm) along the track and as we were chatting a small flock of Egrets passed overhead heading W towards Mill Mead. I managed to pick out a Cattle Egret on the edge of the flock but my impression was that the majority were Little Egrets.

As the day progressed the local Little Egrets were moving around with the Cattle. Numbers have been up of late 7-9 birds all in the area of Mill Mead. There wasn’t much moving around in the skies but the Mute Swans were very active in chasing the juvenile flock of Canada Geese around the Causeway Pond. It was interesting to note that they left the family party of Egyptian Geese alone on the lake!

The pair of Egyptian geese had successfully raised four goslings which I think is a record for the farm. This species has bred in recent years but the young are usually predated prior to the goslings reaching the juvenile stage.

There is still potential for some movement out there therefore I am looking to pop out again later this afternoon!

Dorset - Lodmoor RSPB - Morning Round Up!

I put on a slightly different hat on today meeting a pal of my brothers for a mornings birding at Lodmoor RSPB. Guy is relatively new to birding therefore the aim of the morning was to see as many different species as possible on the reserve.

The first bird of the day was a life bird for Guy a Great Egret on Post-box pool! It was here that I realized my cameras auto focus was not functioning! I recently failed to take photos of an Oystercatcher at Bardolf Farm and at the time I was a bit bemused as to why the camera struggled to lock onto the bird. I do wonder if this is a temporary issue or something more permanent!

Most of today’s photos have also been scrapped due to being out of focus! 

The morning was a pleasant journey with around 40 species recorded on the reserve. Sandwich Tern, Black tailed Godwit, Redshank, Oystercatcher and a Common Sandpiper were the reward for a thorough search of the margins.

Camera update: I have switched my fixed 300mm to another lens and cleaned it. Having swapped both back as AF was working on the Zoom 75-300mm. The 300mm AF is now working again. Water/Damp in the system maybe?! 

Dorset - Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Being an Oik!

Today has definitely been indoor playtime so I have been catching up with my reports and analyzing my territory maps. The roof to the conservatory is glass therefore I can keep an eye on the sky as well as the feeders.

The monsoon like rain combined with the high winds has definitely had me in the right place however I noticed on the weather forecast that the rain would stop around 1800hrs. This provoked a flurry of activity resulting me sitting in the porch waiting for the last drop of water to fall!

Sika Deer

The water levels at the meadows would have risen considerably over the last 24hrs and there was a chance of something stopping off during the storm! My instincts were correct as I sneaked along the hedgerow to get a view of the pools at Mill Mead! I heard an Oystercatcher but could not see it and it was not easy moving about in the now swampy margins to the hedgerow. The bird continued to call as it passed parallel to my position and flew south joining a group of Black-headed Gulls. Engaging the camera took forever and the opportunity was missed. I phone Hugo to let him know and hoped the bird would return!

View from the Hedgerow

The bird was heard calling again about 90minutes later which suggested it had returned and was looking to land on the meadows or it had found one of the many small pools and trenches to remain out of view! I spent until dusk looking but could not re-locate it. Hugo has been updated and hopefully the bird will wait out tomorrow’s storm and giving me a photo opportunity and Hugo a chance to see it!

This species is common in Dorset but it is a new species for the Farm tally! Fingers crossed it will stick around until the weather clears! This is my 116 species for Bardolf Farm and 100th species for the year!

Puddletown Water Meadows Bardolf Farm - Rain and Shine!

The rain yesterday was welcomed particularly in the garden. It also gave me the nudge I needed to get up at stupid o clock this morning to see what had been forced down as the front cleared. The Water Meadows has held water on some of the pools throughout the year and this was my first staging post. 

Green Sandpiper was very skittish on Mill Mead but this gave me a good opportunity to count them and check for a Wood Sandpiper!

Large Skipper

The Egyptian Geese have successfully bred again but judging by the age of the goslings I would say this is a late or second brood with the first failing! A family of Moorhen and Pied Wagtail were also feeding in the margins of the river.

Essex Skipper

The morning brightened up which provoked a butterfly fest within the fields and set aside to the crops. I managed to photograph most species with Peacock slipping the net.

Meadow Brown female

There is more unsettled weather as the week progresses therefore I had better keep an eye on things just in case something unusual drops in!